"this is the industry reality,I work in finance." - That might be the reality for your company, but it is not the reality for the entire industry. I'm not sure you'll be able to effectively stop this behavior at your own company, but I am positive you can find another company with a more friendly environment.

Which is your location? Asking because depending on it there are different realistic strategies.

I work in finance. I've never seen this kind of behavior at work, which doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but I've never heard anyone comment on anyone else's appearance, male or female, in four years.

@DarkPurpleShadow To expand on what you are saying, it would be helpful to know what country the original poster is in. Not saying this behavior is great anywhere, but different strategies exist for different locales.

Document it. Make a written note of everything you see. When you quit, you can sue them for constructive dismissal. UK law is on your side here; you'd probably have a strong case and similar cases to yours have made the news in recent years. (that said, consult a lawyer before you actually quit and take this path; I'm not one, so please don't take this as advice)

"Things like smelling my hair"... don't walk, run. You are not going to escape grossly offensive and weird behavior such as that, especially if you've noticed that it's "the culture of the company". Find another job.

FWIW I work in finance in London and it's nothing like that.

If they care so little about possible sexual harassment claims, then what other legal or moral obligations are they cutting corners on? Sounds like a toxic environment.

I've worked in Finance in New York City, and it was NOTHING like that. Quite the opposite, it was the quickest way to get you fired.

@RichardU With today's social climate, it would be pretty remarkable to find large companies where the type of culture described by OP is tolerated. It's such a huge liability.

How could someone ever consider such behavior anything but simply wrong? I regard myself as quite conservative, okay. But such behavior is beyond anything acceptable. This is not anything normal. I have a 7y.o. daughter and teach her that 1. she does not need to accept anything anybody is doing to her when she's not fine with that and 2. if the behavior continues, kick the shin of the other and tell him to fuck off. This and nothing else. I'm pretty sure that the behavior you describe is on the border to illegality in Europe. YOU DON'T HAVE TO ACCEPT THIS!

Being in the UK you have paid sick leave. If this situation is making you ill, including depression, you can go to the doctor and get a fit note. This way you will have a break of their harasment, plus you can use part of the time and energy to fins another job.

Run quickly, if you stay there long enough other companies might think that you are part of your company X culture.

Good luck in your job search!

shouldn't this question be closed as it refers more to envy to same gender colleagues than it refers to working?

I work in finance in London and I can promise you that if stuff like that was going on at where I work (a major bank) then people would be getting fired. I know things still aren't perfect (the gender balance is terrible, etc) but the bank does seem to be making a genuine effort and I've heard some of the female tech staff we do have talk about stuff they do to support each other and how the bank supports those efforts so people are trying.

One thing to consider is that the women may well have adopted defensive camouflage - when the problem is that bad the only choices are play along or leave or kick up a stink...and so it's easier just to play along.